


Fight Back

by TheREALRedVans



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Heavy Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 06:02:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11098422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheREALRedVans/pseuds/TheREALRedVans
Summary: “Voltron needs YOU! Not me! You have to get back to them, they all care about you, Keith!” He threw another punch, and another. Keith still showed no signs of defending himself. “FIGHT BACK, KEITH! WHY WON’T YOU FIGHT BACK?”Keith grimaced, holding his gut as he falls to his knees. “Lance, team Voltron cares about you, too. Lance, I care about you! You have a family to go back to! A mother, a father, your siblings. You can’t leave them. I don’t have anybody. Nobody will miss me, Lance. Nobody even knows I’m here.”-----------------------------Keith and Lance are on an alien planet when they get abducted by the Galra Empire. They are then forced to fight.Word Count: 1731





	1. Chapter 1

The room was dark and smelled of weird substances, along with sweat and the distinct smell of blood. It always had a similar scent, whether it came from a human, animal, or foreign aliens. The musk filled Keith’s nose, causing him to choke. He shot up, eyes flying open and he looked around the room. It was hard to see, there seemed to be a sort of fog in the room, more like dust, filling his lungs and burning his eyes. He swept his glance across the area again, and it landed on the formed lying beside him. The form was so familiar, and it took Keith a moment to process what was happening. Then, before he knew it, he was shaking the body forcefully, pleading for it to wake up.

“Lance, Lance! C’mon buddy, get up!” Keith wanted to scream it, yell it, but he figured that wasn’t safe, so he whispered it into Lance’s ear. His hands gripped the boys’ shoulders, shoving and pulling frantically. When he still didn’t rise, the red paladin loosened his grip, only to wrap his arms around Lance. Tears were threatening to spill, and Keith wasn’t sure he could keep them in. Suddenly, he didn’t care about whether anything was dangerous. He wanted to scream, curse, fling himself against the far door and pound on it until something happened, but he couldn’t. All energy drained from his body as he held Lance, holding back tears. This was his ‘rival’, his jackass of a teammate, someone he recently started thinking of as his friend, and he lay motionless in Keith’s hold.

Just as Keith was beginning to think he’d lose the battle with his own emotions, the body he held began to stir. He flinched back as Lance mumbled something and moved his body, even if it was just an inch. “Fuck,” he whispered, and it made Keith grin as a few stray tears fell down his cheeks. This time, Keith hugged him tight, just a little looser than the death grip just minutes ago.

It took Lance by surprise, but then he was smiling weakly and hugging Keith back. The brunette then gently pulled back and looked up to Keith, and his eyes widened slightly at the tears that now streamed. First, he tucked the black hair behind the other’s ears, and he brushed away at the water rushing down his face. Keith continued to smile a painful (and yet somehow… giddy?) grin. 

“Never, ever, do that again. Please?” Lance looked confused, having no idea why Keith was hugging him, or crying, or what he was begging him not to do. But the look on the pale boy’s face had him nodding gently.

They stayed in each other’s space for a while until the door opened and a Galra soldier came in, grimacing. “Get up, you filth.” He glared at the two, noticing how close they were. “Hurry it up now. I don’t want to spend any more time with you earth scum.”

Keith stood first, pulling Lance up after him. When he glanced at the brunette’s face, he squeezed his arm and sent him a soft smile. “It’ll be alright, Lance. Okay? Trust me.” The worry on his face didn’t disappear, but it softened a bit. He held onto Keith as they walked behind the alien. He led them into an arena, and the two boys looked around in shock.

The Galra soldier left them in the middle, where another grabbed them and grinned. “Hello, audience!” he boomed, drawing out the ‘o’. “Here we have two earthlings, found on a nearby planet. Now, do we have a show for you!” The large Galra turned to them, snapping his fingers. Two shorter aliens rushed forward, handing weapons to the two humans. Keith grabbed a long katana-like weapon, while Lance grabbed what could only be compared to a blaster, as well as a small, short sword. They had no idea what was happening, but they knew how cruel the Galra could be and had to try to be prepared. The short creatures each grabbed a paladin and pulled them to opposite sides of the arena. Lance looked pained as he was dragged away, and Keith considered fighting to get to him, but realized that may do more harm than good.

Suddenly, they each had a spotlight on them. The announcer turned to the audience, pointed teeth on full display. “Now, to have these two lovers,” Lance’s eyes doubled in size, and Keith turned completely red, “to fight each other to the death! The winner will live to see another day, but will never see the other again.” Keith gaped in horror, just imagining having to stab Lance. He shuddered. “Let it begin!”

Keith and Lance slowly approached each other, clearly conflicted. The Galra in the audience were strangely quiet for an alien race which thrived on pain. They came closer and closer, and when they were a few feet apart, Lance dropped his gun and reluctantly held his sword in front of him. He lunged forward half-heartedly, purposely missing Keith’s shoulder. The smaller boy dropped his katana and raised his fists. Lance followed, knowing that his punches wouldn’t do as much damage. He threw hits, Keith taking them without attempting to block them or fight back. 

“Keith, what are you doing?” Another hard punch, another hard hit. “Dude, come on! Give the, uh, ‘people’, what they want!” Another blow, this time in the face. It wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic as the rest though, he was losing willpower. The Galra were obviously not too entertained, so the announcer came over.

“You two are not bringing in the rating we need.” He slapped each boy on the neck, attaching some sort of device. “Now, continue!”

When Lance hesitated, the new device shocked him. It wasn’t a light shock, it was a full-body shock. Keith must have felt it too, because his face contorted in pain. “Lance, come on. You’ve gotta do this.” He sounded breathless, and his face displayed grief. “Get back to Voltron. Go back home to your family.” This fueled Lance.  
“FUCK YOU!” he screamed, punching Keith even harder than before. “Voltron needs YOU! Not me! You have to get back to them, they all care about you, Keith!” He threw another punch, and another. Keith still showed no signs of defending himself. “FIGHT BACK, KEITH! WHY WON’T YOU FIGHT BACK?”

Keith grimaced, holding his gut as he falls to his knees. “Lance, team Voltron cares about you, too. Lance, I care about you! You have a family to go back to! A mother, a father, your siblings. You can’t leave them. I don’t have anybody. Nobody will miss me, Lance. Nobody even knows I’m here.” 

Lance hits hit again, tears starting to fall. “Keith, that’s not-“

“NOBODY KNOWS I’M IN MOTHERFUCKING SPACE, LANCE! NOBODY IS EVEN LOOKING FOR ME,” Keith screamed. His angered expression fell, and he looked at the floor. “Just, just do it Lance. Please.”

More tears, rolling down and hitting the floor. Keith picked up the katana by the blade, handing it to Lance. He centered it on his stomach, and smiled sadly up at the Cuban. “Lance, please, for me.”

He moved his hands to cover Lance’s over the hilt of the sword. He then forced into his stomach, crying out in pain. The look on Lance’s face made it even worse, and Keith didn’t want that to be the last thing he saw. He grabbed his face, bringing it closer. “Lance, hey, you’re alright. You’re a great shooter, a great friend, and surely a great son.” When the blue paladin began to cry, Keith drew him closer. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. Tell your mama I said hi, please?” Lance grabbed Keith’s face, pecking his forehead. With his draining strength, Keith shrugged out of his cropped jacket and handed it to Lance before grabbing his face again. “Take it,” he began before coughing, blood dripping down his chin. He wiped it on his arm before wrapping them around Lance’s neck. “Take it, and remember me.” His voice grew weaker and weaker, but he refused to stop. “Please, don’t forget me. Please…”

“Keith, please don’t leave me. No te vayas, por favor no vayas!” He broke down sobbing as Keith’s hand slid from his neck and his body slumped against him, the hilt of the sword poking his stomach. The Galra strutted over from the front, grasping Lance’s bloodied hand and raising it in the air.

“We have a winner, boys! This pathetic young earthling has killed his lover, only with the help of his lover! There you have it!” 

The time between seeing Keith’s lifeless body and Voltron breaking in were a blur. Lance didn’t remember being brought back to the room where he woke up in Keith’s arms, didn’t remember the Galra escort slamming his gut with his gun when Lance didn’t respond, didn’t remember the announcer coming in to congratulate him and to give him the katana he used to murder his friend. He didn’t remember slipping on Keith’s jacket, torn from the sword in the back and bloody, but still Keith’s.

Suddenly, Shiro was grabbing his arm, pulling him up. He was shouting at Lance, but he couldn’t make out the words. Finally, he pulled himself together only to hear, “Where’s Keith?” being shouted over and over. Lance began to sob again, and Shiro looked at Keith’s jacket wrapped around Lance’s frame. He noticed the blood on the jacket before noticing that it also covered the boy in front of him. That sent Shiro into motion as he picked up Lance and carried him out the way he came in. He ran, and when he got back to the castle, he fell to the ground dropping the Cuban from his arms. 

“Keith, he’s…” Shiro began, but couldn’t finish. Soon, he was joining Lance is sobbing over the Korean, his best friend and brother. Nobody knew what happened, but they understood enough. Coran led Lance to the healing pods to treat him for malnutrition and the wound from the Galra soldier, but he would be out in no time. Lance saw this as a blessing, as long as he didn’t have to think while inside the pod. He could maybe forget. He wanted to forget forever, but he knew that was too much to ask.


	2. Alternate Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alternate ending to the sadness in the original.

He moved his hands to cover Lance’s over the hilt of the sword. Lance was shaking all over, and surely being shocked repeatedly. He couldn’t do this. Keith gave him a weak smile, and went to put pressure on Lance’s hands, when Lance jerked away and dropped the katana. He was in obvious pain now, and Keith felt it shoot through his own neck as well.

Just as Keith went to reach for the weapon again, an alarm sounded around them. The boys glanced around and the pain stopped, meaning whoever was in charge of the shocks was preoccupied. The other members of Team Voltron burst into the room, finding Lance curled up and sobbing in Keith’s arms as the other stroked his back, trying to block out the galra all around them, shouting for someone to force the fight to continue.

As soon as Shiro reached them, Lance sobbed with relief. He wouldn’t have to die today, neither of them had to die today. Shiro pulled them up and rushed them out of the arena as quickly as possible, dodging the galra who desperately followed in search of their lost entertainment.

When they reached the safety of the castle, Lance broke down again. This time though, Keith could comfort him without the immediate danger of a galran soldier or some drunkard in the audience upset over the lack of blood and guts.

“Shhh, Lance, you’re okay, it’s okay,” he whispered into dark brown hair as his hands ran through it and his arms wound around the other. “We’re both still here, right? It ended up alright. We’re fine.”

Lance pulled back slightly to look into Keith’s deep eyes. “You know when you said nobody would miss you?” he whispered with a weak, quiet voice. His eyes shifted away, as more tears rolled down his wet face. “Well that’s bullshit. The whole team would miss you. But I-” he hiccuped as the tears became more frequent, “I would miss you a hell of a lot, Keith. I don’t think-” he cut himself off again with sobs as Keith pulled him into his body and held him there.

It would be alright, Lance knew this. It was alright for now, at least. But all he could think of was the sword tip pressed to Keith’s stomach, what would have happened if the team hadn’t gotten there a moment sooner. What would have happened if Lance couldn’t think through the pain shooting through his body from the device on his neck.

What would have happened if Keith was gone?

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Klance fanfic, actually first Voltron fanfic ever. I'm thinking about writing more though! Hope you enjoyed (and sorry I'm awkward)


End file.
